Would You Pay 13% More for Clean Energy?

On average, Americans are willing to pay 13 percent more for “clean” electricity, according to a new paper “Willingness to Pay and Political Support for a U.S. National Clean Energy Standard” by researchers at Yale and Harvard.

13 percent translates to $162 annually that Americans, on average, are willing to on top of their current electricity costs. People favor incurring the additional cost in order to support a National Clean Energy Standard (NCES) requiring that 80 percent of the energy be “clean,” or not derived from fossil fuels.

With the goal of understanding the politically and economic feasibility of an NCES, the researchers conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,010 U.S. citizens between April 23 and May 12. Respondents were asked whether they would support or oppose an NCES, with the goal of 80 percent clean energy by 2035.

The survey results were used to simulate a congressional vote on NCES, assuming that each member of Congress voted according to the preferences of the median voter in their district. This simulation indicated an NCES would pass in the Senate if it increased household costs by an average below $59 per year, and in the House if costs were held below $48 per year.

A press release Americans support national clean-energy standardstated that “the results suggest that the Obama Administration’s proposal for a national standard that would expand the definition of clean energy to include natural gas and would require 80 percent clean energy by 2035 could pass both chambers of Congress if it increased average electricity rates by no more than 5 percent”.

Redfish Technology, Inc. is a proud to support green power initiatives. We are enrolled in “The Green Power Program” with Idaho Power. We recruit for the cleantech and renewables industries and we actively support them!